Uncertain Beginnings and Consolidation

After Solomon's death, the biblical account places a ‘schism’ of the tribes of Israel from the ‘house of David’ that took place in an assembly in Shechem. Here, as a result of excess taxation, the rule of Solomon's heir, Rehoboam was rejected, and Jeroboam (formerly the official in Jerusalem in charge of the corvée) was elected king. This story serves to link the presumed Davidic-Solomonic ‘United Kingdom’ to the later reality of the permanent separation of two centres of political power in Jerusalem and Shechem. It is narrated in a colourful way, with the dialogue between king and population underscoring the opposition between tribal allegiance and royal oppression:

What probably happened is that the tribe of Benjamin strengthened its ties with Jerusalem, a city on its borders, and with Judah; on the other side Ephraim joined together Manasseh, forming a privileged relationship that was expressed and emphasized in the tribal genealogies by providing them with a common offspring from Joseph.